Natalie didn't like Lily for the simple reason that Lily was an artistic loner.
There were four of us, forced to be flat-mates in uni. Myself, a black boy called Ryan, a blonde girl named Lily and Natalie. Ryan and I immediately got on. He was studying maths, and although we were doing complete opposite degrees we had so much in common.
Natalie and Lily tolerated each other, but they would never be best friends. Lily was an Art student, and she spent most of her time holed up in her bedroom painting or studying. So Natalie became the unofficial third member of Ryan and I's little gang.
Plus, Nat and I were doing the same degree so we saw each other a lot. She was a good person to be around. She was always positive, always hopeful. There hadn't been an instant attraction when we met — sure, she was pretty, but she was my friend. I had always just seen Natalie as my friend, until that night in November. It was a Friday; Ryan had gone home to see his parents, and Lily was holed up in her room like usual, so Natalie and I were sat in the sitting room, watching a movie on her laptop and drinking alcohol.
We were twenty years old, stuck between adulthood and immaturity.
We were both a little drunk, and we ended up kissing ... and more. Let's just say we took things to the bedroom. The incident was never mentioned again, but neither of us regretted it. Two months later Natalie grabbed my arm as I was about to leave the flat, a wild look in her eyes.
"I'm pregnant." She blurted out.
"What?"
"I just found out this morning. I - yeah."
"And you're posit--?"
"One hundred percent, Evan."
"Holy --"
"Shit? Yeah, me too."
"Whoa ..." I was speechless, a rare feat for me. "A baby. Nat, what are we going to do?"
"We?"
"Well I had a hand in all this. You didn't get yourself pregnant," I spoke honestly. We had been careless and this was the result of such immaturity, but I wasn't going to pretend I had had nothing to do with it. A shocked laugh left Natalie's lips, but the worry hanging over her brow had faded slightly.
"You're not going to be dealing with this on your own, Nat." I promised. Her lips trembled and she pulled me into a hug, a few tears sliding down her face.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice shaking. "I was so scared, so scared."
I slid my hand up and down her back, attempting to be consoling. How could she think I would just leave her to deal with a baby all by herself? No way. I wasn't that cruel.
"You don't have to be scared anymore." I whispered into her hair. Natalie pulled away, wiping at her eyes. She managed a laugh.
"God... a baby. How am I going to tell my parents?" She ran a hand through her hair.
"We'll tell them together. I'm with you every step of the way on this, Nat."
And I was. Every step of her pregnancy, I was there. Telling her parents was the hardest thing we had to do, I think. Nat took me over to hers a few weeks after she had found out.
Her parents house was nice, way out in the country with loads of wildflowers growing. Idilic. The door was a bright red, and the knocker was in the shape of a lion. A strangely familiar lion ...
"Aslan," Natalie said, answering my unspoken question. "My parents are huge fantasy fans."
"I love it."
Natalie exhaled, gripping my hand so tightly I was certain she was cutting my circulation off. I reached over, and swung the Aslan knocker against the door.
A pause. We both held our breaths. Footsteps approaching the door. Natalie's fingers tightened around mine. A man in his late forties, early fifties greeted us from the doorway. He was tall, and dressed in simple comfy clothes— a jumper and trousers. Natalie's father was a handsome man, with dark brown eyes (which she inherited) and an easy smile.
"Natty! I didn't know you were coming over today." He said. I didn't miss the suspicious glance Natalie's dad threw at me.
"Hey dad. I wanted to surprise you. This is Evan." Natalie forced a smile on her face. I stuck my hand out towards the other man.
"Nice to meet you."
He did shake my hand, and he did smile, but he knew something was up.
"Evan, this is my dad, Peter." Natalie continued, following Peter into the house. My own stomach was twisting with nerves. I didn't want to tell Peter that I had gotten his daughter pregnant. He was going to hate me.
"Natalie! What a lovely surprise!"
I stepped into the sitting room, and immediately spotted an older woman hugging Natalie. Natalie clearly got most of her looks from her mum. They shared the same thick dark hair, and high cheekbones.
"Oh, mum. This is Evan. Evan, my mum, Rosie." Natalie said, gesturing me forward.
"Hi." I smiled, shaking Rosie's hand. She looked delighted to meet me. Evidently I was the first of Natalie's boyfriends to come to her parents home and admit I'd gotten her only daughter pregnant. Oh God.
"It's lovely to meet you, Evan. Sit, sit," Rosie said, pushing me gently towards the sofa. "I'll get the kettle on. Tea, everyone?"
Natalie and I nodded wordlessly. I was afraid my heart was going to burst out of my throat. Rosie bustled off into the kitchen, and I turned to face Natalie. She was staring back at me, wide eyed with panic.
How do we tell them? She mouthed, raising her hands.
I don't know. I mouthed back. Natalie bit her lip, but put on a smile when Peter came into the room, and ... sat down next to me. Does he know?
"So... dad. Uh —" Natalie trailed off.
"For an English student, Nat, you're not very vocal." Peter joked. I laughed hesitantly, and Natalie joined in.
"Alright, what's going on?" Peter folded his arms, staring at me, then Natalie.
"I just —" Natalie broke off, running her hands through her hair. At that moment Rosie reappeared, a tea tray balanced in her arms.
"Thanks," I mumbled, accepting a cup.
Rosie took a seat next to Natalie, and smiled. Her expression changed once she caught sight of Peter. "What's going on?"
"That's what I'm trying to find out. Nat's acting odd," Peter said.
"I'm pregnant," Natalie blurted out.
"What?" Her parents said in perfect symmetry.
"Oh, Natty," Rosie whispered, turning to face her daughter. "I was not expecting those words to come out of your mouth."
"I'm sorry, mum. But we're not giving up the baby." Natalie was firm.
"We?" Peter repeated.
Great. My turn to step up to the podium.
"Me, and Nat," I said. "I'm the father."
All eyes flashed to my face. I wanted to curl up into a ball and die.
"I'm sorry. We didn't mean for this to happen." I muttered.
"But ... Nat, your education. What about your dreams of being a teacher?" Peter said, finally removing his eyes from my face.
"I can still become a teacher, dad. Just not as soon as I wanted to."
"And I can raise the baby. I was planning on leaving uni anyway. It just isn't for me."
Natalie's eyes widened at my plan. I hadn't told anyone about it. I had realised a few months into my degree that this just wasn't for me. I wanted to be an author, it was what I'd always wanted to do. I didn't like any of the texts we were studying, and I hated writing essays.
Natalie's parents were staring at me in surprise too.
"Evan—" Natalie started.
"I've made my decision, Nat. I can get a job — two jobs..." I turned to face her parents. "I'm going to do all I can to support your daughter. I promise."
Her parents exchanged a glance, but nothing was said. I sipped my tea, and fidgeted on the sofa. The silence was killing me.
"Well... you're both adults," Rosie eventually said. "There's nothing we can do to stop you both. But ... we're always here to offer a helping hand."
My eyes flickered over to Natalie's. She was smiling.
"Thanks, guys." She said, addressing her parents. I mentally breathed a sigh of relief. Phew. It seemed Peter wasn't going to beat me to death. Nice.
Nice.
I had a lot of things I needed to think over. Dropping out of uni, to begin with. Then getting a job, finding a house, getting another job ....
No matter. It would all work out.
Leaving Natalie's parents home was a lot less stressful than entering it. They waved us off from the front door, and Natalie promised we would visit again.
We were a 'we' now. There was no Natalie, and me. It was a we. A couple. A partnership.
A ... family?
I was getting ahead of myself.
———————-
Four months later:
"Evan?" Natalie called as I stepped into the house. It was June, the height of Summer, and I had just returned from work.
"Yeah?"
"Baby names! What're we thinkin'?" Nat said. I hung up my coat, and followed her voice to find her sat in the living room. She was curled up on the sofa, a tan blanket covering her legs. A notebook rested on her lap.
I eagerly sat down beside her. "Uh... I like Ben for a boy, and Lily for a girl. What about you?"
Natalie curled into my side, and smiled. "Nick, or Annie. Or ... Tiana."
"Tiana? I love that. Princess and the Frog, right?" I took the notepad, and wrote Tiana down, circling it twice.
"My favourite Disney Princess."
"It's perfect."
And everything was perfect, for the time being. I got a job in a bookshop, which I loved, and Natalie continued her education at the uni, living between her university accommodation, and my cheap little flat.
Life was good.
But it didn't last.
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Hi guys! Here's chapter one of 'The Adventures of Evan and Tia'! This chapter is more of a flashback/behind the scenes extract of how Evan met Tia's mum, Natalie!
I'm excited to get properly into the story! I have so many ideas. Tia will be coming up soon!
Anyways, that's all from me!
Love,
Hatter.